# The Palin Baby Rumor - Proven False? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 2, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766 "2008-09-02T23:40:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![A\_shameful\_cracka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@A\_shameful\_cracka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_shameful_cracka)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/121 "2008-09-05T04:02:42Z")
Considering the rumors that Palin had an affair with her husband’s co-worker, it may be that the birth certificate has a different father listed, not a different mother. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/122 "2008-09-05T04:05:00Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Is she a reckless head case or is she just a quirky little gun-totin’ governor who doesn’t show when she’s pregnant? Why can’t she be both? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/123 "2008-09-05T06:07:15Z")
[Here](http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=662468&hp)’s Palin herself on the subject.\* \*Warning: Parody. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/124 "2008-09-05T13:02:50Z")
I hate to keep posting the same link, but different segments of it keep being relevant. [http://www.crosscut.com/politics-government/17341](http://www.crosscut.com/politics-government/17341) Local woman. Opponent of Sarah Palin. Says Trig is her baby, no question. That’s good enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/125 "2008-09-05T13:38:51Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > You have not presented anything to convince anyone that this issue is merely a baseless personal attack. > [@Shodan](#): > > Make an accusation. If the candidate (on either side) responds, then you have caused them to use up time and energy trying to disprove your accusation. If not, you can then **proceed on the assumption that the accusation was true**. You’re doing the bolded part. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/126 "2008-09-05T13:51:05Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > I hate to keep posting the same link, but different segments of it keep being relevant. > [http://www.crosscut.com/politics-government/17341](http://www.crosscut.com/politics-government/17341) > Local woman. Opponent of Sarah Palin. > Says Trig is her baby, no question. That’s good enough for me. Me too. However…way too weird to give her the No. 2 spot in the nation. This woman is downright frightening. Nothing new in the article, but it definitely reinforces everything that’s circulating. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/127 "2008-09-05T16:11:14Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > The idea is to set the agenda. > > Make an accusation. If the candidate (on either side) responds, then you have caused them to use up time and energy trying to disprove your accusation. If not, you can then proceed on the assumption that the accusation was true. “And if I do, will anything happen?” - Deborah Harry Seriously, at the time Palin threw her daughter under the bus, this was a two-day Internet rumor, given credence by nobody of note in the MSM or in the lefty blogosphere. If those involved in promoting the rumor had “proceed[ed] on the assumption that the accusation was true,” so what? ETA: I repeat, this ‘accusation’ is, IMHO, her best defense. If you think it’s better for her to be a mom who repeatedly risked her soon-to-be-born child’s life for no good reason, then feel free to make your case. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/128 "2008-09-05T16:15:40Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > A couple of points that seem to be consistently overlooked here: > > 1. Palin’s doctor has stated that, contrary to her original story, he did not actually approve her activities when her water broke/leaked. I missed this one, **Bookkeeper**. You wouldn’t happen to have a cite, would you? ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/129 "2008-09-05T17:12:51Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I missed this one, **Bookkeeper**. You wouldn’t happen to have a cite, would you? [http://www.adn.com/626/story/382864.html](http://www.adn.com/626/story/382864.html) ““Things were already settling down when she talked to me,” Baldwin-Johnson said. Palin did not ask for a medical OK to fly, the doctor said.” (note that her doctor is female, so read “she” for “he” in my original statement). ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/130 "2008-09-05T17:19:55Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > [http://www.adn.com/626/story/382864.html](http://www.adn.com/626/story/382864.html) ““Things were already settling down when she talked to me,” Baldwin-Johnson said. Palin did not ask for a medical OK to fly, the doctor said.” (note that her doctor is female, so read “she” for “he” in my original statement). Thanks - that’s all quite interesting! To sum up: leaking amniotic fluid (which we knew), one or two contractions an hour throughout the day (after more frequent contractions in the a.m.), contractions felt different from earlier ‘false labor,’ didn’t ask doctor’s OK to fly, flew anyway. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/131 "2008-09-05T17:23:52Z")
> [@Bookkeeper](#): > > A couple of points that seem to be consistently overlooked here: > > 1. Palin’s doctor has stated that, contrary to her original story, he did not actually approve her activities when her water broke/leaked. She has (probably rightly) been taken to task on this, but note that her doctor presumably made his response based on the fact that he knew about her pregnancy and had been treating her during it. > > 2. There was, IIRC, a post in a Lost Weekend thread on this subject which cited a news reporter who had interviewed residents of Palin’s home town who confirmed that the daughter’s pregnancy was common knowledge there. (Anyone able to find this?) This would seem to argue against any last minute cover-up conspiracy. > > For the record, I have no standing in this as an election issue, not being American, but as a Canadian, I would be much happier with an Obama/Biden administration running our next-door neighbour, and wish that the Democrats would drop this like a hot potato and concentrate on her real shortcomings. 1. It is obvious that her “doctor” is a GOP operative spreading disinformation. 2. The neighbor is also a GOP hack. My real question to the other side is, “For what purpose would she try to claim the baby as her’s when it is really her daughter’s?” The only answer I can think of is that she wanted to try to hide the fact that her unmarried daughter was pregnant. Well, if that were the case, then why did she admit, two months before the election, that her unmarried daughter is now pregnant? Wouldn’t any negative consequences be the same from either one, but trying to pull a coverup as the OP is suggesting would REALLY be a disqualifier, so why do it? It would be like me going to great lengths to hide the fact that I have an alcohol problem by admitting that I have an alcohol problem. It doesn’t compute.. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/132 "2008-09-05T18:03:11Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > The only answer I can think of is that she wanted to try to hide the fact that her unmarried daughter was pregnant. Well, if that were the case, then why did she admit, two months before the election, that her unmarried daughter is now pregnant? She didn’t know she was going to be running for Veep during Trig’s gestation- her life is under a microscope now. Claiming that Bristol is pregnant sufficiently enough to rule her out as Trig’s mother is the easiest solution- she gets to claim it’s a private matter, as we’ve seen her do. We’ll know more if Bristol’s child is ridiculously premature, or if Bristol has a “tragic miscarriage” in the coming months. Of course, all of this would be completely unnecessary if Trig’s birth certificate were to be released… but that would be too easy, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/133 "2008-09-05T18:49:46Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > My real question to the other side is, “For what purpose would she try to claim the baby as her’s when it is really her daughter’s?” > > The only answer I can think of is that she wanted to try to hide the fact that her unmarried daughter was pregnant. Yep, an old-fashioned notion, but still alive in some obscure corners of our nation. > [@](#): > > Well, if that were the case, then why did she admit, two months before the election, that her unmarried daughter is now pregnant? Remember that circumstances have suddenly changed for her. Assuming for sake of argument that she faked being pregnant to cover up Bristol’s (first) pregnancy, she did that on a much smaller stage, that of a state of 650,000 or so people. Now she’s got the eyes of a nation of 300,000,000 people, plus a good deal of the rest of the world, on her. All of a sudden, subterfuge that worked in Alaska is rather less successful. And besides, if Bristol’s pregnant now as well, there’s gonna be no hiding it now. Going to this well a second time is clearly impossible. Might as well reveal it in a way that solidifies the earlier coverup as it was starting to come apart, because admitting that coverup won’t work in national politics. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/134 "2008-09-05T18:52:23Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > We’ll know more if Bristol’s child is ridiculously premature, or if Bristol has a “tragic miscarriage” in the coming months. I think you mean ridiculously late. But otherwise, I shoulda previewed, because you already said everything I finally got around to saying. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/135 "2008-09-05T19:11:35Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > You’re doing the bolded part. > > Regards, > Shodan I obviously am not, given that I refuse to assume that Bristol is the mother, as I have already stated. Do you _read_ people’s posts before making false slanderous statements against them? ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/136 "2008-09-05T19:52:57Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I think you mean ridiculously late. Gah. What you said. In my defense, Math is Hard. ---
**Author:** ![bink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@bink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bink)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/137 "2008-09-05T20:55:07Z")
> [@A\_shameful\_cracka](#): > > I wonder if the rumor was actually started by her party as a way to distract from her corruption and financial irresponsibility. I think it’s simpler than that. I think they cooked up the whole thing: mysterious mother, mysterious father, plague of toads, dead dog, house burned down, sky falling, etc. as a smokescreen for when they had to face the inevitable announcement of Bristol’s pregnancy. After all of the ominous buildup, in the end it’s just a little baby and everybody says awwww. They knew they’d have to come clean about Bristol’s pregnancy sooner or later. I can’t imagine a better way to orchestrate it. Plus they get to call the Liberal Bloggers a bunch of meanies. Icing on the cake! ---
**Author:** ![A\_shameful\_cracka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@A\_shameful\_cracka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_shameful_cracka)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/138 "2008-09-05T21:35:04Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > We’ll know more if Bristol’s child is ridiculously premature, or if Bristol has a “tragic miscarriage” in the coming months. I keep hearing this…if they are lying about how long Bristol is pregnant, the baby will be born LATE, not premature. The conspiracy theory is that Bristol is either not pregnant at all or got pregnant after giving birth to Trig, and they are lying in saying she has been pregnant for 5 months. If she WAS pregnant prior to Trig being born, then she should give birth in 4 months or less. If she’s still pregnant in February, it will look mighty suspicious. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/139 "2008-09-05T23:46:27Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Do you _read_ people’s posts before making false slanderous statements against them? **Moderator’s Warning:** **Begbert2** , [accusations of lying are not permitted in Great Debates](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=448632). ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766/140 "2008-09-06T00:55:55Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Remember that circumstances have suddenly changed for her. Assuming for sake of argument that she faked being pregnant to cover up Bristol’s (first) pregnancy, she did that on a much smaller stage, that of a state of 650,000 or so people. Now she’s got the eyes of a nation of 300,000,000 people, plus a good deal of the rest of the world, on her. > > All of a sudden, subterfuge that worked in Alaska is rather less successful. And besides, if Bristol’s pregnant now as well, there’s gonna be no hiding it now. Going to this well a second time is clearly impossible. Might as well reveal it in a way that solidifies the earlier coverup as it was starting to come apart, because admitting that coverup won’t work in national politics. So, according to this theory, Bristol gave birth to this kid in April and now is pregnant again? That was VERY convenient for Sarah Palin because had Bristol not gotten pregnant again, then she couldn’t use this excuse. Her coverup would have been found out by the hordes of reporters outside of Alaska courthouses looking for documents in a week or two. Pregnant TWICE by age 17? I don’t buy it. I don’t care how fundy you are, If your 17 year old daughter had a kid, and you went to great lengths to cover it up, she would have been eating birth control pills for lunch, dinner, and dessert every day. And if you think about it, the risk v. reward didn’t make sense then when it was on a smaller scale: 1. Gov’s 17 year old daughter has a child out of wedlock. Yawn. 2. Gov tries to pretend that 17 year old’s daughter is really hers. Political career over and probably criminal charges and impeachment from falsifying government records. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-palin-baby-rumor-proven-false/461766.md?page=8)